Thumb-operated safety for boltaction firearms



Feb. l5, 1966 c. H. BENSON 3,234,679

THUMB-OPERATED SAFETY FOR BOLT-ACTION FIREARMS I Filed Dec. 1'?, 1964 2 Sheer,s-Shee1'l 1 n @L 2 sz g I9 27 :I4-6 9e '4 |o4|os no Ill" 06 INVENTOR CARL H. Be/vso/v f: ATToRNEs/.st

Feb. 15, 1966 c. H. BENSON 3,234,679

THUMB-OPERATED SAFETY FOR BOLT-ACTION FIREARMS u 3o /lazgA 28 38 INVENTOR 32 CA @L H. Ee/vso/v /n's Arron/evs.

United States Patent Cfifice '3,234,679 Patented Feb. l5, 1966 3,234,679 THUMB-OPERATED SAFETY FOR BOLT- ACTION FIREARMS Carl H. Benson, New Haven, Conn., assignor to 0. F.

Mossberg & Sons, Inc., North Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Dec. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 419,061 4 Claims. (Cl. 42-70) This invention relates to firearms, and it relates more particularly to safety devices for llocking the trigger mechanism in order to prevent accidental firing of the gun.

In certain types of firearms, and especially in doublebarrel Shotguns, it has been conventional to locate the safety button just rearward of the tang of the receiver at a point where it lies in front of and above the thumb on the shooters trigger hand. Thumb-operated safeties have been provided in what is loosely termed as hammerless actions, so-called because in this type of firearm the action is completely enclosed within a housing or receiver so that the hammer or striker, as the case may be, is not visible. In this type of gun the upper surface of the receiver may curve smoothly down at the rear into the hand-grip portion of the stock. This configuration lends itself well to the positioning of the safety on the upper surface of the housing where it can be immediately reached by the shooters thumb when his index finger on the same hand is on the trigger. In addition to its convenience, a safety of this kind is not likely to be accidentally moved into tiring position if the gun is carried through heavy underbrush or over rocky territory or the like, because the thumb-piece by which the safety is operated is less likely than other types of safeties to catch on branches and twigs.

For a long time it has not been considered feasible to employ a thumb-operated safety of the type specifically referred to hereinabove in bolt-action firearms, because the bolt extends rearward of the receiver at or near the position where it is desired to locate the thumb-piece of the safety. However, I have now found a way of positioning the safety member on a bolt-action gun so that it is located immediately in front of and above the thumb on the shooters trigger hand. This necessitates placing the safety on the rear end of the bolt, but in so doing, problems are encountered, not the least of which is how, without making the gun less safe, to deactivate the trigger mechanism by means of the safety which, being carried on the bolt, is displaced during reloading with respect to the trigger mechanism.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a thumb-operated safety device which is mounted on the bolt, which operates in conjunction with the trigger mechanism rather than the firing mechanism on the bolt, yet which is capable of rendering the gun safe in accordance with accepted standards.

In general the invention resides in mounting the safety on the rear portion of the bolt of the gun so that it moves with the bolt as the latter is retracted to o-pen the breech, or moved forward into breech-closing position when loading, and in so locating the safety device with respect to one of the members of the trigger mechanism, such as the trigger itself or the sear, that when the bolt is forward and locked, the safety can be moved on the bolt into and out of relation with the trigger member. Thus, while the bolt is locked and the striker cocked, the safety is operative to prevent actuation of the trigger mechanism. But due to the fact that it is mounted on the bolt, the safety is displaced out of operative relationship with the trigger member when the bolt is unlocked. At this point anj other safety device comes into operation to positively lock the striker in cocked position at all times while the bolt is unlocked.

Safety devices have of course been mounted on the bolt before, but in all cases of which I am aware, they have always operated in conjunction with the firing mechanism in the bolt itself, rather than with the trigger mechanism. For example, it is conventional in some types of guns to lock the striker in the bolt by rotating a cocking knob at the rear end of the bolt after the striker is cocked so that a pin projecting laterally from the striker eng-ages a fixed portion of the bolt, thus preventing release of the striker. In others, safety levers have been located on the bolt in such a manner that when they are shifted to the safe position, the striker is cammed rearwardly against the striker spring and held by the safety lever so that the striker is rendered inoperative until the safety lever is moved back to its original position. Because it is necessary in such safety devices to move the striker against the pressure of the striker spring, the shooter must remove his trigger finger from the trigger in order to grasp the safety device with at least two fingers so that he can move the safety into or out of firing position. These devices can not, therefore, be considered as thumb-operated safeties in the sense here contemplated. No bolt-mounted safety to my knowledge is Iassociated directly with the trigger mechanism in order to deactivate the trigger or sear.

A general object of the invention is to provide .a thumboperated safety of the character described which is simple, durable and reliable in operation, as well as economical to manufacture and assemble in the gun. These and other objects of the invention as well as novel features and advantages, will become more apparent from the description hereinafter of one embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is -a fragmentary side view of a bolt-action firearm showing the thumb-operated safety mounted on the rear of the bolt in convenient position to be operated by the shooters thumb;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on 1an enlarged scale of the rear portion of the receiver of the gun shown in FIG. 1, with the firing mechanism cocked and the safety in its safety-on position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the rear of the receiver with the receiver and bolt partially broken away in order to expose certain parts;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the safety disengaged and the firing mechanism in the fired position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 4, but showing the bolt and trigger-plate in full elevation, with the bolt in its fully retracted position;

FIG. 6 is a view of the underside of the rear portion of the bolt taken on the line 6 6 of FIG. 5, portions being broken away; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of FIG. 2.

The firearm shown in the drawings includes a receiver 10 and barrel 12, which are suitably mounted in a full stock 14 by means of a take-down bolt (not shown) located just in front of a box-type magazine 16. A breech-bolt 13 is reciprocally guided withinreceiver 10 lfor movement into and out of breech-closing position. The exposed rear end 19 of bolt 18 is `streamlined with the receiver and stock, giving the gun the general appearance of a so-called hammerless firearm. In this instance breech-bolt 18 4consists of a forward, non-rotatable portion 2@ and a rear portion 22 mounted so as to be rotated relative to the forward portion 2i) by means of a bolthandle 24 (FIGS. l, 3 and 5), rigidly fixed to the rear portion 22. To this end, the forward portion 20 of the bolt is provided with a cylindrical boss 21, on which the rear portion 22 is journaled. A key 23 fitting within a J9 circumferential groove 25 on boss 21 prevents portions 2t) and 22 from separating longitudinally while permitting rotational movement of the rear portion 22 relative to the forward portion 28. Reciprocation of bolt 18 is effected in a conventional manner by bolt-handle 24, which may be swung about the longitudinal axis of the bolt into and out of locking relation with a transverse slot 26 in the receiver. Bolt 18 can thus be retracted to the position shown in FIG. lfor ejecting an empty cartridge and reloading in the usual manner by raising bolthandle 24 out of transverse slot 26 into a longitudinal slot 27, and then by withdrawing the bolt rearwardly.

The trigger mechanism indicated generally at 28 is supported in a hollow trigger-plate 30 securely fastened to the underside of receiver within a hollowed-out portion of stock 14. In this instance triggerplate 30, including the trigger guard 32, is formed as an integrally molded unit of synthetic material, such as nylon. The upper part of trigger-plate 38 opens toward, and is riglidly connected to the underside of receiver 18 by means of a mounting screw 35 at its front end and a cross pin 36 spaced rearwardly thereof. Receiver 10 and triggerplate 30 comprise the frame for the firing and trigger mechanisms. Between transversely spaced side plates 37 of trigger-plate 30 are pivoted a trigger 38 and a sear 39 superimposed above the trigger. A nose portion 48 of the trigger extends forwardly and upwardly into operative engagement with sear 39 and is provided on its upper surface with a tooth 42 for engagement in a searnotch 44 in a depending portion 46 of Sear 39 adapted to engage and press downwardly against the tooth 42 on the trigger when the action is cocked.

A cocking lug 48 on the upper side of Sear 39 projects upwardly through a narrow longitudinally extending slot 50 in the underside of receiver 10 into the path of a cooking stud 52 which extends down through an opening 54 (FIG. 2) in the bottom of bolt 18 from a springloaded striker 56 therein. Striker 56 is permitted limited movement longitudinally within a cylindrical chamber inside bolt 18 under the constant pressure of striker spring 57. Trigger 38 is urged counter-clockwise, as shown in FIG. 2, about its pivot pin 58 by a trigger Spring 60 into engagement with sear 39, which in turn is pivoted on cross pin 36. As hereinbefore mentioned, pin 36 also helps mount trigger-plate 38 to the underside of receiver 10 by passing through a pair of spaced depending tabs 62 on opposite sides of slot 58 in receiver 10 and through upstanding portions 64 (FIG. 5) at the upper edges of sidewalls 37 of trigger-plate 30, between which tabs 62 are closely received. Pin 36 may be secured in place by a spring washer 66 (FIG. 5) adjacent the outer surface of trigger-plate 38. Sear 39 is also urged in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in the drawings by means of a sear spring 68 mounted in a socket in the inner surface of trigger-plate 38. It is apparent from FIG. 2 that the striker 56 will be released to fire the gun when trigger 38 is retracted in a clockwise direction dislodging its tooth 42 from the scar-notch 44 of sear 39. Since the force of the striker spring 57 is many times greater than that of Sear-spring 68, sear 39 is pivoted clockwise by stud 52 immediately upon being unblocked by trigger 38 and the striker slams forward to iire a cartridge.

Extending rearwardly and upwardly from trigger 38 is a safety linger 72, the upper end of which is disposed adjacent the underside of the tail portion 19 of bolt 18 for engagement with a safety lug 74 carried by bolt 18. Safety lug 74 is secured at its upper end by means of an assembly screw 76 to a longitudinally slidable thumbpiece 78 located in an elongated groove 80 in the upper surface of tail portion 19 of bolt 18. An elongated slot 82 is cut downwardly through bolt 18 centrally of groove 80 in order 'to accommodate the upper end of safety lug 74 and to guide it for movement with thumb-piece 78 on the bolt.

It will be noted that the upper surface of the tail portion of bolt 18 slopes rearwardly in order to continue uninterruptedly the smooth contour dened by the bolt in the upper surface of the stock where the thumb of the shooters hand is positioned when tiring, as illustrated in FIG. l. When the thumb-piece 78 and safety lug 74 are located in their rearward or safety-on position as shown in FIG. 2, trigger 38 is blocked against pivotal movement in a clockwise direction by engagement of its safety finger 72 with a stop-surface 79 at the lower end of safety lug 74. However, when thumb-piece 78 is slid forward and up to the position shown in FIG. 4, where stop-surface 79 is clear of linger 72, trigger 38 is free to pivot clockwise enough to disengage sear 39, thereby releasing striker 56. Accordingly when thumb-piece 78 is forward, the safety is off or in tiring position while, with the thumb-piece moved back so that safety lug 74 locks safety linger 72, as shown in FIG. 2, the safety is on and the gun is safe.

A convenient arrangement for mounting the safety on the bolt consists of forming a recess 84 in the underside of the rear portion 22 of bolt 18 so as to coincide with slot 82. The inner top surfaces 86 of recess 84 on each side of slot 82 (FIGS. 5 and 7) are parallel with the bottom of groove 88 on the outer surface of bolt 18. As may be seen in FIG. 7, the lower part of safety-lug 74 is enlarged laterally to form upwardly facing shoulders 83 which engage the inner surfaces 86 of recess 84. By making the distance from the shoulders 88 to the top of safety lug '74 slightly more than the depth of slot 82, assembly screw 76 may be turned down tight in order to rigidly secure thumb-piece 78 to safety-lug 74 without interfering with the free-sliding movement of the safety member to and from its safety-on position.

A spring detent 90- located in the bottom of recess 80 of bolt 18 forward of slot 82 engages one or the other of a pair of longitudinally spaced depressions in the undersurface of thumb-piece 78. The safety is thus resiliently held in either of its on or olf positions, to which it is moved by the shooter, and the chances of accidentally removing the safety are therefore reduced.

In order to cock striker 56, the leading edge 92 of opening 54 (FIGS. 5 and 6) in bolt 18 is sloped forwardly so as t-o cam cocking stud 52 back against the striker spring 57 when the rear portion 22 of bolt 18 is pivoted about its axis upon lifting bolt-handle 54 out of locking position in transverse slot 26 of receiver 10. Striker 56 carries a firing pin 94, which is xed thereto and is guided within a longitudinal passage through the forward portion 28 of bolt 18. It will be noted that the lower end of cocking stud 52 extends down into the elongated slot 50 in the bottom of receiver 18 and, therefore, that it is prevented by the Walls of slot 50 from moving laterally about the longitudinal axis of the receiver and bolt when the rear portion 22 of bolt 18 is pivoted to unlock the breech. Consequently, upon unlocking bolt 18, rotation of its rear portion 22 causes opening 54 in the bolt to move transversely of cocking stud 52, thereby bringing its cam surface 92 into operative engagement with stud 52 in order to cock striker 56.

As best seen in FIG. 6, opening 54 in bolt 18 is also provided with a narrow latch-portion 96, both sides of which extend circumferentially of the bolt, the forward edge thereof being notched slightly at 98 in order to provide a retaining seat for cocking stud 52 in its fully retracted position. Striker 56 is thus positively latched in its cocked position as the bolt is manipulated during the usual extraction, ejection and loading operations. Accordingly, as the bolt-handle 24 is uncocked, the striker 56 is simultaneously retracted by cam 92 into a cocked position with its cocking stud 52 resting in the detent 98 where it is retained while the bolt is retracted in reloading. When bolt 18 is moved forward again into breech" closing position, cocking stud 52 engages the ups'tanding cooking lug 48 of sear 39, which then retains the striker in its cocked position as the rear portion 22 of bolt 18 is rocked back into its bolt-locking position. As the rear of the bolt is rotated into bolt-locking position, the opening S4 moves relative to the cocked stud 52 of the striker 56, so that the latch-portion 96 thereof is no longer in registry with stud 52. At this point stud 52 lies adjacent the rear edge of opening 54 at the widest part thereof so that stud 52 has adequate room to move the full forward travel of striker 56 to the position shown in FIG. 4, in order to fire the cartridge.

It will be apparent that since the safety 74-79 is mounted on the rear portion 22 of bolt 18, rotation of this part of the bolt in unlocking the action when the gun is cocked also causes the safety lug 74 to swing out of registry with the safety finger 72 of the trigger, so that it is no longer capable of blocking the trigger in order to prevent accidental firing of the gun. However, whenever safety lug 74 has been rotated clear of finger 72, the opening 54 in the bolt is located relative to cocking lug 52 such that even if the striker should accidentally fall, the cocking stud 52 would strike the sloping or camming edge 92 of opening 54, thus positively preventing the end of firing pin 94 (FIG. 5) from moving far enough forward to project beyond the breech face of the bolt. Consequently, even in this rare situation a cartridge cannot be fired. More likely, however, the bolt-handle 24 will have been rocked as far as it can go out of bolt-locking position, so that the cocking stud 52 is safely locked within the latch-portion 96 of opening 54 while the safety lug 74 is inoperative. A double safeguard against accidental discharge of the gun is thereby achieved. Since the engagement surfaces on finger 72 and safety lug 74 must of course be in close proximity to each other when the safety is on (FIG. 2), the stop-Surface 79 of safety lug 74 is notched at 99, so that it may clear linger 72 as it swings counter-clockwise as viewed in FIG. 7, when bolt 18 is unlocked.

Rotation of the forward part 20 of the bolt 118 is prevented by cartridge extractor claws 100 (FIG. 5), which project laterally from the breech-end of the bolt into longitudinal grooves 102 in the inner sidewalls of receiver 10. In addition a cartridge case ejector 104 (FIG. 3) is mounted on the receiver opposite the ejection port 106 thereof, such ejector being fastened to the outer side of the receiver and having an ejector linger 108, which extends through an opening in the receiver into a longitudinal groove 110 in the side of the forward portion 20 of the bolt. Groove 110 extends forwardly to the breech end of the bolt so that when the bolt is fully retracted ejector finger 108 projects beyond the face of the bolt to engage the empty cartridge case and eject it from the receiver in the usual manner.

It will be noted that the present construction permits the receiver to be shortened substantially at its rear end without adverse effect, thereby reducing manufacturing cost. As in most bolt-action guns, the bolt-handle 24 moves entirely out of the receiver when the bolt is fully retracted (FIG. 5). In order to prevent undesired rotation of the rear portion 22 of the bolt with respect to the forward portion while the bolt is thus retracted, a springloaded detent pin 112 (FIGS. 3 and 6) is provided at the front end of portion 22 near its periphery. Detent 112 is located circumferentially of the bolt such that upon rotation of the rear portion 22 out of breech-locking position, detent 112 becomes aligned with ejector groove 110 in the forward portion 20 of the bolt so that the end of its pin becomes engaged within said groove as shown in FIG. 6. Consequently, when the bolt is retracted to the position shown in FIG. 5, detent pin 112 prevents rotation of the rear portion of the bolt with respect to the forward portion. Bolt-handle 24 therefore is properly aligned with the longitudinal slot 27 in the top of receiver when the bolt is returned to its breech-closing position. As bolt 18 approaches its forward limit of travel, detent 112 engages the rear edge of ejector finger 6 108 and is forced rearwardly out of groove 110 to allow the rear portion 22 of the bolt to rotate back into boltlocking position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. It should be noted, therefore, that ejector 104 performs a dual function in both ejecting cartridges and depressing the bolt-aligning detent 112.

When bolt 18 is closed, it is desirable to lock it with the receiver on both sides, in order to balance the forces of recoil when the gun is fired. Thus, as may be seen in FIG. 3, bolt-handle 24 locks within transverse slot 26 on one side of the receiver and in addition, a locking lug 114 on the opposite side of bolt 18 engages within a circumferentially extending groove 116 on the inner surface of receiver 10. In this instance, locking lug 114 consists of an extension of bolt-handle 24 which passes completely through the bolt and projects a short distance beyond the surface of the bolt on the opposite side. A longitudinal groove 117 (FIG. 7) in the bottom of receiver 10 extends from the circumferential groove 116 rearward to the open end of the receiver. This permits both the locking l-ug 114 of bolt 18 and the cocking stud 52 of striker 56 to pass freely out the rear end of the receiver in order to retract the bolt after it has been unlocked.

Rearward travel of bolt 18 is normally limited by engagement of the cocking lug 48 of sear 39 with an endwall 118 of a groove 120 (FIG. 5) in the underside of the forward portion 20 of the bolt, into which locking lug 48 is urged by Sear spring 68. Groove 120 is inclined outwardly and rearwardly until it blends smoothly with the peripheral surface of the bolt so that cocking lug 48 does not inter- -fere with the return of the bolt to its breech-closing position. In order to remove the bolt entirely from the receiver for cleaning, it is only necessary to retract it in the usual manner to the position shown in FIG. 5, and then by pulling on trigger 38 as if to fire the gun, thus withdrawing cocking lug 48 downward out of groove 120, bolt 18 is freed so that it can slide freely out the open rear end .of receiver 10. Withdrawal of cocking lug 48 is effected through engagement of a shoulder 122 on the upper edge of safety finger 72 of the trigger with a tail 124 at the back end of sear 39.

It will be understood that various changes and modiications may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein described without departing from the intended scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bolt-action firearm having a frame including a receiver, a trigger mechanism mounted on said frame and a breech-bolt supported in said receiver for reciprocal movement along the longitudinal axis of said receiver into the out of breech-closing position, the combination comprising a safety device carried by said breech-bolt and movably mounted thereon into and out of a safety-on position, said trigger mechanism including a trigger member movably mounted on said frame between cocking and ring positions, said safety device having a stop-surface for preventing movement of said trigger member into its ring position and said trigger member having a portion disposed for engagement with said stop surface; said stop-surface being disposed with respect to said trigger member when said bolt is in breech-closing position so as to positively block Isaid frame-mounted trigger member in its cocking position when said safety device is in its safety-on position, while being located clear of said trigger member when said safety device is moved out of -said safety-on position.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, which also includes a firing member carried by said breech-bolt for movement thereon to and rfrom cartridge firing position, at least the portion of said breech-bolt on which said safety device is carried being mounted for pivotal movement about the longitudinal axis of said breech-bolt to and from bolt-locking position when the breech is closed, and means for blocking movement of said ring member into its cartridge firing position when -said pivotal portion :of said breech-bolt is pivoted out of its bolt-locking position.

3. The combination dened in claim l, wherein at least a portion of said breech-bolt is mounted for pivotal movement about its longitudinal axis to and from boltlocking position when the breech is closed, said stopsurface on said safety device being carried clear of said trigger member upon pivotal movement of said breechbolt out of bolt-locking position.

4. In a boltaction firearm having a frame including a receiver, a trigger movably mounted on said frame between cocking and firing positions, an elongated breech- 'bolt supported in said receiver for reciprocal movement longitudinally into and out of breech-closing position, and a firing pin mounted for reciprocal movement on said breech-bolt, the combination comprising a safety device mounted on and adjacent the rear end of said breechbolt for movement into and out of a safety-on position, said safety device having a depending lug for preventing movement of said trigger into its firing position and said trigger having a portion disposed for engagement with said lug, said lug being located when Said safety device is in its safety-on position and when said breech-bolt is in its breech-closing position such that it positively block said trigger in its cocking position, While being located clear of said trigger upon being moved out of said safety-on position, at least the rear portion of said breeclh-bolt being also mounted for pivotal movement about the longitudinal axis of said breech-bolt to and from bolt-locking position when the breech is closed, a guide groove in said receiver disposed longitudinally thereof, said rear portion of the bolt having an opening in its side, and said firing pin having a member extending outwardly through said opening into said guide groove in said receiver, thereby constraining said firing pin to rectilinear movement relative to said receiver, said opening in said rear bolt-portion being elongated circumferentially of said bolt in order to permit said rear boltportion to pivot relative to said tiring-pin member upon movement thereof into and out of bolt-locking position, said opening being formed with relatively wide and narrow parts in a circumferenial direction such that said ring pin member is disposed in said wide part when said bolt is locked and in said narrow part when said bolt is unlocked.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,818,669 1/1958 Perry et al. 42-16 2,948,075 8/1960 Yeomans 42-25 3,013,355 12/1961 Weatherby 42-16 3,014,304 12/1961 Brown et al. 42-25 3,024,559 3/1962 Weatherby 42-70 3,138,888 6/1964 Brewer 42-70 BENJAMN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A BOLT-ACTION FIREARM HAVING A FRAME INCLUDING A RECEIVER, A TRIGGER MECHANISM MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND A BREECH-BOLT SUPPORTED IN SAID RECEIVER FOR RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT ALONE THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID RECEIVER INTO THE OUT OF BREECH-CLOSING POSITION, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A SAFETY DEVICE CARRIED BY SAID BREECH-BOLT AND MOVABLY MOUNTED THEREON INTO AND OUT OF A "SAFETY-ON" POSITION, SAID TRIGGER MECHANISM INCLUDING A TRIGGER MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME BETWEEN COCKING AND FIRING POSITIONS, SAID SAFETY DEVICE HAVING A STOP-SURFACE FOR PREVENTING MOVEMENT OF SAID TRIGGER MEMBER INTO ITS FIRING POSITION AND SAID TRIGGER MEMBER HAVING PORTION DISPOSED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID STOP SURFACE; SAID STOP-SURFACE BEING DISPOSED WITH RESPECT TO SAID TRIGGER MEMBER WHEN SAID BOLT IS IN BREECH-CLOSING POSITION SO AS TO POSITIVELY BLOCK SAID FRAME-MOUNTED TRIGGER MEMBER IN ITS COCKING POSITION WHEN SAID SAFETY DEVICE IS IN ITS "SAGETY-ON" POSITION, WHILE BEING LOCATED CLEAR OF SAID TRIGGER MEMBER WHEN SAID SAFETY DEVICE IS MOVED OUT OF SAID "SAFETY-ON" POSITION. 